Three Forces Empowered | Dream Team

Chapter Thirty-Five

George gasped and opened his eyes, looking around wildly. He was in a dark room completely void of any light sources. Closing his eyes didn't make a noticable difference.

"Sapnap?" he whispered into the darkness. "Dream?"

"Nggghh," Sapnap groaned from right beside him. "I hate my life."

George let out a relieved sigh. "Sapnap! Oh, whew, at least you're okay." 

"If you consider being kidnapped twice, with tranquilizar darts involved in both instances, as 'okay,' then yes, I'm definitely okay."

"Good to know. Do you have an idea of where they took Dream?"

He couldn't exactly see Sapnap, but he could tell that he was exasperted. "I was unconscience," Sapnap said. "Of course I have no idea."

George shifted around a bit. His hands were tied behind his back, the ropes digging uncomfortably into his skin. As a prince who had always hidden under the safety of his father's careful protection, he had never ever felt the terror of being kidnapped before. 

Not that he was enjoying his first experience. 

"Sapnap," George said, nudging his friend gently with his arm. "Do you have anything we could use to cut these ropes?"

"Yeah, hold on."

There was a bit of shuffling before Sapnap said, "Okay, got it. Gimme a second...."

George frowned slightly. "Wait, what? What are you using to cut..."

"My knife."

"A knife? Where'd you get that from?"

He could feel Sapnap roll his eyes. "Okay, fine, Mr Exact. It's just a blade that I keep with me at all times."

"Where do you even keep it?"

"My sleeves are very baggy, George. Ah, crap... no, wait... yes... got it!"

Sapnap grabbed George's shoulders and turned him around, then started sawing at his bonds as well. "There."

George pulled his hands to the front and massaged his wrists. They were sore, but he didn't care. He needed to get his friends out. The only problem was, he didn't know how.

"Thank god for your weird tendencies," George sighed. He squinted into the darkness, trying to focus his eyes. "Okay. First we're going to figure out where we are, and then we're going to figure out where Dream is, and then we're going to escape."

"That's a good plan," a voice said, chuckling dryly. "Unfortunately for you two, it won't work."

Lanterns flickered to life, bathing the room in light. George blinked multiple times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. He was in a drab stone room, completely barren of any furniture, with a single door on the opposite end. In front of him was a man dressed in shaggy brown clothing. A bow was slung over his shoulder along with a sheath of arrows. His dark red hair hung around him in waves, just brushing his shoulders. A black mask covered the lower half of his face, reminding George of Bad's friend, Skeppy.

"Who are you?" George demanded.

The man wagged his finger sternly. "That's a big question, my prince."

Prince... He knew who George was, then. He wasn't oblivious. This was intentional.

"Peligro sent you," George guessed. "You're an assassin. So are your friends, the ones who kidnapped us with you."

"They're not my friends, per se," the man said, tapping his finger impatiently on his leg. "More like... accomplices. Others sent to do the job along with me."

"You're the ringleader, then?" Sapnap asked.

"One of," the guy admitted. "I work with one other, Pegasus. We're a killing duo." He winked.

Pegasus. The name struck a cord in George. He knew that name. He had heard it before, multiple times, along with names like Dream. But there was something else to it that was bugging him.

"Wasn't Pegasus associated with a different person?" George asked with a frown. He glanced over at Sapnap for support, then remembered that Sapnap had lived as sheltered of a life as you could get.

The man's face darkened. "Perhaps. But that was a long time ago. Now he's associated with me."

Sapnap arched an eyebrow. "And you are...?"

Their captor smiled. It a pleasant smile, at the same time a very nice, friendly smile as well as the type of smile you'd expect from a person who was going to hurt you very, very badly. "My name does not matter, but if it brings you joy before I hand you to Peligro, then... I am Actaeon."

It did not bring George any joy, but at least his captor had a name.

"How did you get out of your ropes?" the man asked curiously. Then he shook his head. "Ah.. that doesn't matter. You won't escape, anyway."

"Where's Dream?" Sapnap asked with a scowl.

Actaeon waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, he's with Pegasus. You two are lucky that you got to be with me."

In a way, George agreed with him, though not in the way that the archer probably thought. Pegasus was a more pristine and well-known assassin with a notorious past to rival Dream's. George was afraid of what the guy would do. And the fact that he was scared made him even more worried about what would happen to Dream.

"What are you going to do with us?" George asked, wincing internally at the slight wobble in his voice.

Actaeon flashed his peaceful, friendly smile again. "Oh, Peligro wants to deal with Dream, and to do that, he wants you two first. I'll admit, I have no idea what he has planned. He's a very secretive guy, he is." He looked around, glancing over at the doorway behind him. "Actually, he should be getting here soon. Him and Dream have a history."

"We know," Sapnap said. "Peligro made Dream's father a target. Not only that, but Dream was the one who was assigned to. It was horrible luck."

The archer winked. "Was it luck, though? There's much more to Peligro that you don't know."

That doesn't sound good, George thought with an inwardly sigh.

Actaeon glanced out the doorway again. "Well, I should get going. Promise me you won't leave the room?"

George and Sapnap stayed silent. Actaeon simply shrugged. "Oh, well. If you leave, though, we'll have no choice but to kill you. You have been warned."

He turned and strolled out, shutting the wooden door behind him. For a second, George simply just sat there. He didn't know what to do anymore. He just wanted to stay there, away from trouble, away from all the pains of the world, and... give up.

"Come on, George," Sapnap whispered in his ear, tingling it. George flinched away and frowned at him.

"What?"

Sapnap rolled his eyes. "What do you mean, 'what?' We've got to go find Dream."